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Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies are sweet, soft, and festive! Covered with colorful sprinkles, they’ll definitely brighten your day!

Sugar Sprinkles Cookies can be rolled in any colored sprinkles for all sorts of holidays and events. Use team colors on game day, reds and pinks for Valentine’s Day, and red and green for Christmas.

Sprinkle cookies on a white rectangular tray
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Must Make
2 Ingredient Notes
3 Tips for Making Sprinkle Cookies
4 Culinary Terms:
5 Frequently Asked Questions
6 You May Also Like:
7 Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies Recipe

Why You Must Make

  • These Funfetti Cookies scream fun and festive just by their appearance!
  • They’re made from a simple sugar cookie recipe rolled in sprinkles. This is a super easy recipe!
  • Check out the photo below of my Valentine’s Day Sprinkle Cookies. They can be tweaked for any holiday or event by using different colored sprinkles.

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Sugar
  • Baking powder – This leavener does not have the same shelf life as baking soda. So make sure to check the expiration date on the can. If you want to double-check, put a spoonful in a cup of hot water. If it’s still active, it will bubble vigorously.
  • Butter – at room temperature
  • Cream Cheese – at room temperature so it blends easily.
  • Egg – at room temperature
  • Vanilla Extract – Make sure the label says real vanilla not artificially flavored.
  • Almond Extract – You will need much less almond extract than vanilla extract when flavoring cookies, cakes, etc.
  • Rainbow Sprinkles – Sprinkles do expire and can turn rancid. If yours have been in your pantry for years, taste them before using or replace your container if you know they are years old.
3 sprinkle cookies with red and pink sprinkles on a square white plate.

Tips for Making Sprinkle Cookies

  • Have your egg, butter, and cream cheese at room temperature for easy incorporation.
  • If your sprinkles have been in your pantry for over a year, give them a sniff and even taste one, as they can get rancid as they age.
  • Also, check the expiration date on your baking powder can. Unlike baking soda, it will expire and if used when expired, your cookies will not rise properly. PRO-Tip: Check the potency of your baking powder by putting a spoonful in hot water. If active, it will bubble furiously.
  • Use real vanilla, not imitation.
  • If you use a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. This will prevent excess air from being whipped into the dough, as that can make more cakey, less chewy cookies.
  • Use a cookie disher to scoop out consistent-sized dough balls. This way, they’ll all be done baking at the same time.
  • PRO-Tip: Rolling the dough balls between your palms before rolling in sprinkles will warm and soften the surface, allowing the sprinkles to stick more easily. If your hands or kitchen are cold, you can dampen your palms with just a touch of water.

Culinary Terms:

When mixing cookies you may see these two culinary terms in the procedure for making cookie dough.

Whisking: Whisking is the process of mixing together two or more light ingredients with a wire whisk. In baking, it’s often used to blend together the dry ingredients without sifting.

Creaming: Creaming is beating an ingredient or combination of ingredients until the mixture is soft, smooth, and creamy. Most often this refers to mixing butter and sugar together.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the Difference Between Sprinkle Cookies and Funfetti Cookies?

Sprinkle cookies use round sprinkles while Funfetti cookies use long, narrow multicolored jimmies. Most Funfetti cookies have the jimmies mixed into the dough instead of just covering the surface of the cookies.

Do You Sprinkle Cookies Before Baking?

Yes, by rolling the moist dough balls into sprinkles before baking, they stick to the dough and adhere more securely while they cook. Trying to get the sprinkles to stick on already baked cookies would be very challenging unless frosting was involved!

Do Sprinkles Melt When Baked?

No, good-quality sprinkles will not melt in the oven.

You May Also Like:

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Sprinkle cookies in a shallow white ceramic bowl
The Recipe:

Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield 30 cookies

Soft sugar cookies covered in vibrant, colorful sprinkles for a treat that will brighten your day!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
  • ¼ cup cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1¼ cups sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  4. In your stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy.
  5. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  6. Add the flour mixture and slowly mix until the flour is incorporated. Stop and scrape down the bowl as needed.
  7. Using a medium cookie disher, scoop out rounds of dough. If your kitchen is warm and/or your dough is very soft, cover and chill the dough for 30-60 minutes before proceeding.
  8. Roll the dough balls between your palms to make them nice and round. This will also warm the surface and help the sprinkles adhere.
  9. Roll the balls in the sprinkles and place on your prepared baking sheet.
  10. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they're almost set.
  11. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Notes

These cookies will keep well in an airtight container for about 4 days. They'll freeze well for up to 3 months.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

2 cookies
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 426Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 300mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 5g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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© Liz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies